This year’s tour had been long in the planning.
Mum will be turning 93 yrs. of age in 2017, so it was a no-brainer that I would have to make the trip to W. Africa to visit and spend time with her.
My last visit was in 2015.
With the demands of finances that a trip of this magnitude demands, I would have to set my riding aside and re-direct whatever funds I could towards traveling overseas.
With dreams of still so many places to see I began some long term planning for 2016.
I knew I would be deprived of a motorcycle tour in 2017 so I wanted to make the most of what I could possibly and comfortably afford and accomplish in 2016.
My youngest daughter and her fiancée had chosen the end of August this year (2016) to get married, so I would therefore be making a trip to Corpus Christi for that – be it by air or road.
Road?
Hmm, that was an idea. If I rode to Texas, I could make a tour of my return trip.
Yeah, why not?
I’d have the whole Gulf Coast within striking distance and the thrill of another opportunity to ride through the Appalachians.
I’d still have some vacation time left in the year so I figured since I’d be missing out on a tour next year, why not try to do/afford 2 of them this year?
It was a grand idea.
I felt I owed it to myself anyway.
So I now had the challenge of coming up with an interesting and affordable trip.
So cutting a long story short, I decided to make it a destination ride.
Pick somewhere in particular to visit and then enjoy all points in between.
Back in February of this particular year at a work-related training and certification seminar in Garden City, Kansas, I struck up a new friendship with Mike.
Mike lives in Maine and before we parted at the end of that week, we promised each other to have a lobster dinner in Maine, one day if and when I made it to and through that state.
This would be a great opportunity to make that happen.
Winter was just about coming to a close and as usual, I was anxious to get out and ride.
The warm weather could not arrive soon enough.
Looking into my notes of dreams/bucket list, I visualized a trip to/through New England with my main destination being the city of Lubec, Maine.
So what’s the attraction to this place, you might wonder?
Well, Lubec’s claim to fame is that of being the easternmost city in the lower 48 contiguous states of the United States and is also home to the West Quoddy Lighthouse situated on the Pasmaquoddy head of land. This head of land is a peninsula that juts out eastward from the mainland, making it the first place in the country to receive the suns’ rays of light each day.
In 1808 the lighthouse was built to assist with marine navigation, to guide ships through the very narrow water body known as the Quoddy Narrows separating it from Campobello Island, Canada, allowing access to the Pasmaquoddy Bay. It is still in operation today and sports red and white stripes - the only one in the whole country to be painted in this scheme of colors, making it stand out and be seen during heavy fog.


Other pluses for me on this trip were to reconnect with my buddy Pete (we had met in Corpus Christi where we both lived at the time several years back) who had retired and now lives in Connecticut and to visit my daughter and granddaughter who currently live in New Jersey.
So I began to plan in earnest, opting to incorporate the Memorial Day weekend into my trip to increase the number of days at my disposal.
So the trip began to take shape.
A visit to New England, then a ride to Texas for the wedding and make a tour of the return trip.
Done deal!

May 28th, 2016
DAY 1.
It was a lovely morning in the month of May when I set out. Clear blue skies, relatively warm temperatures that were forecast to heat up rapidly as the day wore on and best of all I did not have to go to work for the next several days!
At 10:a.m. sharp, I kicked up the side stand of the bike and headed out into the morning. It was a balmy 79’F (27’C).
I wound my way through the neighborhood and onto Interstate 90, heading eastwards out of the city.
I went right through downtown Cleveland, taking in sights I don’t often see.
A grand overlook and view of the whole downtown are from a different perspective than what I see on a daily basis from the rooftop of the facility where I work and settled in for the long ride of the day.
Crossing the bridges over the famous, or should I say infamous Cuyahoga River – the river that caught fire – not once but twice! (you think I’m joking? Do a search on the internet. The history is there for all to see/read).
Observing in passing, the Indians’ baseball park and the Browns’ football stadium and picking out the unmistakable shape of Rock and Roll hall of fame, I settled in for the long and welcome ride ahead.
As with the first day of each tour, my aim/wish is to get as far away from home base in as short a time as possible.
I made it to the Pennsylvania state line in just shy of 90 minutes. I exited the highway and made my way into the town of Conneaut, OH and sought out the McDonalds establishment. It was a good time for a potty break and some food for my now hungry belly.
Although not tired and as I have come to learn to and usually have done, I still made the time to get off the bike and limber up to keep my blood circulation healthy.
More importantly I wanted to take off my newly acquired Tourmaster riding pants.
It had become too hot in them.
The outdoor temperature at this time had climbed to 87’F (31’C) as my gauge cluster on the bike reported.
As I “un-garbed” a young family pulled up in their mini van as well.
Their young son, who must not have been more than 8 yrs. old or so, I noticed, had his eyes glued to my bike, especially at my stuffed animals., strapped on the top box, thorughly enjoying the ride.
Hey mister, that’s a nice bike he said. I asked if he liked the one that just went by on the road. (A Harley had driven by, emitting the characteristic high decibels of the exhaust note). Nah, I like yours. It looks cool!
I acknowledged his parents and exchanged pleasantries before going indoors.
The place was full of elderly folks who all could not keep their eyes off me and were all so nice by greeting me warmly. I found out in conversation that they had all gathered here as they do each day for coffee and breakfast.
The first impression I had was that there must have been some kind of old folks’ convention going on!
After mingling with them for about 20 minutes, I said farewell and parted ways with them.
My next heading was towards Seneca, NY. From Seneca, I wanted to catch highway 20. This part of the route I chose would take me by the Finger Lakes region an on into Syracuse, NY. From Syracuse I would then route myself back onto Interstate 90 and on into Saratoga Springs, NY.
As part of my trip preparations, I had bought and mounted a new Pelican weatherproof box onto the bike that I was using as a rear mounted top box.
This new configuration of the top box on the bike, loaded with gear, made for a very “light steering”.
It did not take me long to realize that the increase in weight at the rear of the bike had altered my center of gravity. So I made a mental note of to take it easy the whole trip through. Luckily I had made provision by allotting myself ample time for this trip, so I was in no great hurry to get anywhere too soon. I could afford to slow down a notch.
So with blue skies and leaves of green as far as I could see, I pushed on.
I routed myself onto the local road out of here.
My jaunt through Pennsylvania was very short. This stretch of highway through to the New York state line is only 55 miles (88km). I arrived there in “a blink” and staying on Highway 20, I made my way in the now 100’F (38’C) weather towards the town of Ripley. But not before stopping at the sign welcoming me to the state of New York to take a few obligatory photos.
After loading camera gear back up, I pushed on through miles of vineyards and farms in the countryside. It was so peaceful and relaxing. I was enjoying the peace and quiet of the farmlands.
The road quality was good. The bike was running true to form. The weather was fine. All was good.
I still had several miles that I wanted to knock down today and realized that if I did not get back on the highway I would not accomplish or achieve the distance I would have hoped for.
But I also wanted to stay on this lovely backroad and “take it all in”.
So pulling up the map function on my GPS unit, I gave myself a brief overview of my bearings in relation to the Interstate system.
In this part of the country, it doesn’t get any farther north than this in terms of the interstate. Interstate 90 hugs Lake Erie and only runs East-West. So one really cannot go too far astray here. If you get lost or happen to stray off course, all you have to do is to head north, keep going as long as you can and you will eventually “run into Lake Erie” from where you can them turn east or west towards where you want to go.
The country roads had meandered quite a bit and I had no direct shot due north, but with the afternoon sun now making its way behind me, I knew was still heading eastwards. I was still on Highway 20 and that’s where I wanted to be. That’s where I stayed.
The ST “chewed up” the miles effortlessly. Looking down at my instrument cluster, the bike reported that all was good.
I stayed on Highway 20 all afternoon till around 5:15 p.m. through the beautiful rolling hills of the countryside that took me through Pennsylvania and New York and on into the beautiful Finger Lakes area of New York.
Stopping at the head of one of the lakes, I made a forced break to sit by the lake for a little while and enjoy the ambience and do some people watching.
Pushing on from there I headed towards Syracuse, NY. And checked into the Comfort Inn around 7:30 p.m. (With still 139 miles (223 km) to go to Saratoga Springs and this late in the day and with this much fatigue from stress reduction, I made an executive decision to bed down in Syracuse for the night. I did not want to endure the hard work of making it to Saratoga Springs under the conditions I found myself in.)
After all, I was in no rush.
I was on holiday. There would be no long ride next year, so might as well take my time on this one and enjoy it to the fullest!
The room was clean and the front desk service was good.
To my delight, the clerk, without my asking, instructed me to park my bike right outside of the front door under the canopy.
The ST had transported us 357 miles (572 km) today.
I was ready for a hot shower and a clean bed.
I ordered a Pizza from a nearby Pizza house. It was good.
I made a phone call ahead to Mike ahead of our meeting tomorrow in Maine.
I fell asleep soon after my shower, dinner and phone calls to report all being well to my wife.

May 29th, 2016
DAY 2.
Up with the rising sun, I loaded up the bike in the 88’F (31’C), high humidity morning and after the “inclusive breakfast” offered by the hotel (I don’t believe it’s free although a lot of chains offer it as such) I set off for the day promptly at 7:30 a.m.
I joined Highway 20 again and stayed on it all the way to the Vermont state line.
A really great ride.
Rolling hills, good asphalt and really not much else though. Just green trees, lots and lots of green trees and a road.
Around 11”a.m. I made it to Saratoga Springs.
I was not surprised to see that as I rolled down main street, all the business establishments, wll let me put it this way rather: My impression as I rolled down main street was “Everything Horses”!
I pulled into a gas station, topped the bike up with fuel, took a potty break, grabbed some trail mix snacks out of my luggage and did a little people watching again as I returned a couple of missed phone calls from my wife.
I was excited to share my ongoing experience with her.
I was sure it was the kind of place she would love to visit. Main street was lined with nothing but quaint little shops and stores offering lots of one-of-a-kind home and personal stuff – all horse-related!
So I got back underway with my journey.
As I crossed into Vermont the topography began to change as I entered the Green Mountains – as they are known.
I switched roads now onto Highway 9 East in Vermont.
This carried me all the way across Vermont into New Hampshire.
This was such a gorgeous route.
Fraught with really beautiful scenery and endless mountain sweepers and several tiny towns as I traversed mountain passes.
With the lovely weather, lots of residents were out and parades were being held.
It was Memorial Day.
The smell of charcoal and barbecues wafted through the air as I got jammed up in the stop-and-go congestion of the tiny towns.
A true motorcycling enthusiast’s “thrill of a road”.
I finally arrived in Saco, Maine around 5:45 p.m. and worked my way via GPS guidance to the home of Mike’s parents. By this time temperatures had dropped from all day 90’s down to 52’F (11’C).
So I got to meet his parents who extended such warm hospitality and insisted that I spend the night in their home – with a promise of homemade, fresh blueberry pancakes and syrup for breakfast.
Mike and I took off around 6:30 p.m. to Bayley’s – the best lobster eatery in Saco, ME. For that long awaited lobster dinner we spoke of way back in February.

It was turning out to be a lovely evening.
Skies were blue, slight wind making temperatures fall gradually and the streaming sunlight beginning to wash over with the warm colors of the late spring season.
I stayed on the road which took me all the way through the town of Lubec, a typical seaside/fishing town, as far as it could, ending at a the local fishing harbor.
Not very far off I looked right across to Campobello Island which is joined to the mainland from here to Canada by the international pedestrian crossing bridge.
I parked right outside Cohill’s Inn, my choice for the nights’ stay, registered my presence and rushed down to the waterfront to take advantage of the waterfront for some photo ops. After which I then returned and completed my check-in formalities for the night.
After unpacking my gear, I covered the ST to keep the salt-laden nighttime mist and morning dew off her, showered and went back downstairs to order dinner.
Dinner consisted of, well, look at the following picture!
All was good.
I retired to bed after phone calls and journal entries of the days’ ride.
Tomorrow I would be making it out to the West Quoddy Lighthouse – one of my primary destinations for this trip.

May 31st, 2016
Day 4.
I was up well ahead of sunrise.
I was excited that I had made it so far. I was in the north eastern section of the country and today was the day, all things being equal, that I would hopefully make it to the eastern most point of the lower “48”.
The fog was heavy, hanging over the bay and was gradually lifting by the minute.
I grabbed my camera and went out onto the upper deck of the inn and took a few photos of the surroundings. It was such a different view. Obviously specific to this place.
I loaded my luggage back onto the bike, fired her up and allowed the engine to come up to normal operating temperature. Then after which I went back indoors and spent breakfast time chatting with the proprietor.
At 8:40 a.m. I said farewell and headed off to find and visit the lighthouse.
I couldn’t go wrong. The road ran for quite a few miles and ended right where the lighthouse was situated.
I milled around and took some photos, experienced the area, overlooking the Bay of Fundy and observing the rapidly changing level of the tide. The water movement created swells that caused a consistent tolling of a bell on a bouy just off the shoreline - an additional safety warning to mariners during times of poor visibility at times like this. Almost suddenly a big fog bank appeared from nowhere. Within minutes I could no longer see the lighthouse from as little as 100 yds. (91 m)
So I gathered myself together and set off southwards, beginning my journey back towards home. This was y “turn around point”.

I wound my back through the town and opted to take the coast road all the way south to Bar Harbor and Acadia National Park – my next destination.
The coast road was obviously “slower” than the interstate road and I settled in to enjoy the ride and views.
I did not have a clear shot/view of the coastline.
Due to its ruggedness, and the way the rocky nature of its outcroppings jutted out into the sea, they were like fingers reaching out. So one would have to leave the road and actually go directly out to the coast and back along the same road.
Well I motored on and arrived in bar harbor ? .
I milled around the wharf watching the cruise and tour boats coming in to port and spent a little time chatting with and watching a couple of lobster fishermen load up their boat and head out to check and set traps.
Getting back on the bike, I wound my way through the now thick traffic/congestion of the harbor area and town into the Acadia National Park.
After seeing what I came to see, it was time to head out of this area. A typical tourist trap!
Leaving Acadia I headed for Ellsworth and Bangor to catch I-95 S.
That proved to be a challenge and was slow going. Too many people and vehicles in such a small geographic area.
I love and prefer the wide-open spaces of the western half of this country.
But in my quest to ride through and visit all lower 48 states of this country, I had to endure this for myself.
The rest of the days ride was unremarkable for me.
Due to time lost earlier in the afternoon, I decided to bed down in Augusta, ME.
All the stop-and-go traffic had worn me out.
I found a hotel just off the highway and checked-in for the night.
I finally “turned in” for the night around 8:40 p.m.
It had been a solid 12 hour day fraught with congestion!
Tomorrow I would try to make up for it.
I had 301 miles to “quash” to make it to Pete’s in New Haven, CT tomorrow.

June 1st & 2nd, 2016
Days 4 & 5.
I made a late and slow start for the day.
I still felt a little tired from the previous days’ trip.
The weather forecast for the area called for lovely high 60’s to low 70’s ‘F (16 – 22’C), clear blue skies and no rain.
Nice! I could handle that!
The distance was comfortable enough and do-able.
So at 9:30 a.m. I set off after “fielding” a flurry of phone calls from Pete who was just as excited and looking forward to seeing me again.
So the interstate system was again going to be my friend for the day.
My only detours or hold ups/snags would be when I left the interstate in search of stateline crossing signs for my obligatory photo ops.
Arriving at Pete’s just before sundown, we reminisced about our days in Coprus Christi late into the night.
We hung out again the whole of the next day (among laundry and fueling up my bike and riding in his new Prius – which was quite a pleasant and surprising experience. Those vehicles really do have some spunk!) and enjoyed lunch at a Jamaican “dive” close by. Great cooking. Wonderful meal of plantains, rice and beans washed down with some Spicy Ginger Beer!
After lunch he took me shopping and stocked me up with provisions for the road, ‘cos my plan now was to turn back east towards Ohio after a stop and visit in New Jersey where my eldest daughter currently lives.
I was looking forward to seeing her again. It had been too long.

June 3rd, 2016
Day 6.
Having spent the best part of 2 nights and a day with him, I set off at 4:35 a.m. into a dark but pleasantly comfortable morning of 63’F (18’C) and continued southwards, still pounding the pavement.
I arrived in howell, NJ at lunchtime. The weather had gotten much hotter. We opted for a McDonalds lunch – a la choice of my granddaughter who had just turned 8 years of age.
With my vacation practically at an end now, I did not have the luxury of another couple of nights on the road.
I had to be back at work in 2 days and needed a full day at home to unwind from the road before returning to work.
So it was mandatory that I arrived home as early as I could on the Saturday before (tomorrow) or sometime on Sunday in event of any delays of mishaps on the road.
I stayed with my daughter and granddaughter for as long as I could and eventually and reluctantly had to part and start the last leg of my journey home.
Back on the interstate.
Around sundown, I pulled off the highway in search of some coffee. I needed the kick to keep me awake.
I pushed on.
Around midnight I was definitely fatigued.
The 18 wheelers were relentless. Trying to stay ahead of them was a safety hazard. I had to pass them at very high and must I say, unsafe speeds.No sooner had I passed 1 or 2 in convoy, I found myself behind another and several others.
So what was my point?
Construction on the Pennsylvania Turnpike had narrowed the road down to 2 lanes.
This was insane!
I had no business “running” the way I was.
As the road went up in elevation into the forest, the fog got more dense.
Nah!
This was unacceptable.
So I slowed it down and exited the highway at a rest stop – which was closed!
I pulled up in the parking lot right underneath one of 2 streetlamps there, unfastened my compression bag of laundry, and using it for a pillow, laid right down on the asphalt beside the bike and tried to sleep.
The silence of the night was broken by the relentless sound of 18 wheelers whizzing by on the highway.
Whew, am I glad I got off the highway.
I must have drifted off to sleep for a little while.
Restless and wanting desperately to get home early, I got back into the saddle around 2:30 a.m. and continued my journey.
The road sounded a lot quieter. Seemingly void of 18 wheelers.
So I felt a little more relaxed and maintained a much more sedate pace for the rest of the journey home.
Apparently, I had been close to the Ohio state line when I pulled off the highway, so I was just a handful of hours away from home.

June 4th, 2016
Day 7.
I rolled into my driveway at 6:50 a.m.
The odometer on the instrument cluster registered a total trip distance through 10 states, of 2361.4 miles (3779 km).
My visit to and through New England was now officially and safely completed in my books.
I learned some valuable riding lessons on this journey, as I have done on each of the others.
Lessons are important to my safety.
I have always been and remain open to learning them constantly and consistently from all good sources and my personal experiences), for I know that when the day comes thinking that I know it all, that will be the day when something nasty could rear its ugly head up.
As a motorcycling enthusiast, I want to enjoy this riding passion for a long time to come, so I try to do whatever I can to make good decisions and choices for self-preservation.
“Chicken-out” today and live to ride another day!
That’s what I say!

Y’all be safe out there.